The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to crimp contacts that are deformed to grip one or more exposed wire conductors of an electrical wire.
A crimp contact is a type of electrical contact that is deformed (i.e., crimped) to grip wire conductors that are exposed at a terminating end of an electrical wire. The wire conductors are inserted into a cavity defined by the crimp contact, and the crimp contact is then deformed (e.g., crushed) so that the interior surfaces of the crimp contact compress and securely engage the wire conductors. Crimp contacts may facilitate connecting the electrical wire to other electrical connectors or devices. Crimp contacts may also be used to join terminating ends from two electrical wires in which the wire conductors from each terminating end are inserted into the cavity of the crimp contact prior to deforming.
Known crimp contacts are sized according to a total cross-sectional area of the wire conductors that the crimp contacts will engage. However, these known crimp contacts are typically only suitable for a limited number of cross-sectional areas. For instance, one contact configuration may only be suitable for the wire conductors of electrical wires that have wire gauges 18-20 American Wire Gauge (AWG). AWG is a frequently used standard in the industry. The tools used to deform the crimp contacts are typically configured for one type of crimp contact. As such, a manufacturer or individual working with electrical wires of different wire gauges may require a number of different crimp contacts and a number of different crimping tools.
Accordingly, there is a need for crimp contacts that are capable of gripping a greater range of wire gauges than known crimp contacts.